Photowalk: Seeking Spring

We’ve had a rotten cold snap here, even having days we didn’t get above 15F (roughly -10C). Snowfall, sleet, ice pellets, cold rain, wind chills low enough to have to worry about frostbite if you’re out for half an hour–you name it, we’ve had it in the last couple of weeks. So I was really appreciative of yesterday’s balmy 66F/19C and sunshine, and took the opportunity to get out for a walk around the neighborhood. I set myself a task of trying to find and photograph at least 10 signs of spring, and publishing at least a few shots today.

What I found when I first stepped out the door didn’t look that promising, more fall/winter than spring, but it made a good photo anyway. I gave it a high-contrast, vintage-y treatment to really make it pop. As a bonus, that treatment really did some nice things to the background.

I got half a block away and found a tree budding out, and shot some tiny new leaves. The macro lens did a stunning job of giving beautiful bokeh in this mostly backlit situation.

A few blocks later, after almost tripping over a robin (no photo to publish, sorry), I spotted a flower growing on the boulevard and captured this lovely image. Then I took a few more steps, passed a fence and a tree, and found a whole yard full of them!

This was a few blocks further on. A nice shot for springtime, but I don’t think it’s one of my best shots ever.

I passed a house with about a dozen wind chimes hanging over its porch railing, spotted a crane-shaped dead topiary, and passed a school and a cactus before taking this shot of a seed pod.

I reached the main drag through town and spotted some people out on motorcycles. I started circling back towards home, passing this church along the way.

I would have stopped for a sandwich at the deli, but they’re not open on Sundays. Better for my pocketbook that I went by when they were closed, right?

I was only a block or so from home when the blue of these tiny flowers caught my eye. All of a quarter-inch across and an inch off the ground, I figured it was worth the trouble of having to get back up off the concrete if I could get a decent shot of them, since the macro lens was still on the camera.

I snapped this shot half a block from home. While the colors of the leaves are more commonly thought of as autumn, they’re all winter long for this bush in this part of the country. They’ll be green soon, though, and blending in with the area instead of being a bright spot of color.

By the time I dragged into the house, I was sneezing uncontrollably, and wincing in pain as my lower back spasmed with every sneeze. But I got some great photos to show for the hay fever, and my back was all right after half an hour of heat while I started editing photos, so no major ill effects. It’s good to be back to being able to take photowalks again. I’ll share another one sometime soon.